...Heroin What do fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, collapsed veins, and infectious diseases all have in common? They are all serious health conditions that might occur if someone is abusing opiates. This includes heroin, also known as diacetyl morphine or diamorphine. Its abuse is more widespread than any other opiates. In this paper, opiates and heroin will be deeply discussed and their major effect on society. What does it mean to be drugged? It means losing your health. It means losing the ability to learn. It means losing your family and friends. It means losing free will. It means losing the joy of living. When a person does drugs, it is likely that they will lose more than what they gain by the drug s effects. People only one desire in life- to get high. The attitude is now, What the hell do I care? Being drugged also means that there is the constant possibility of infection, disease, and even death. But that doesn t matter because an addict only wants their fix. So what makes drugs so appealing to young people? Well might do it because it s something to help their social status- to be like their friends. They might be trying to numb the physical or mental suffering of life. Drugs offer a solution to many teenagers that think they don t have future. Lastly, doing drugs is dangerous and forbidden. It s a chance for them to do something that they know is wrong. Opiates are a group of drugs, which are used medically to relieve pain, but also have a high potential...
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...Title: A Heroin Epidemic General purpose: To inform. Specific purpose: To inform the audience of facts about heroin use. Thesis: Heroin is a highly addictive drug and its abuse has repercussions on the body and mind, not to mention the rippling effects onto the family, society and economy. Introduction 1. Many people would never think that heroin would ever play a role in their life or the lives of their family. 2. I am pursuing a degree in nursing and so am interested in the health effects of heroin. 3. Today we will talk about some of the history of heroin use in the United States, heroin addiction, and how it affects health. Body: What is heroin and how is it used? a) The compound that forms the basis of heroin, Diacetylmorphine, was first synthesized in 1874 by a British chemist named C.R. Alder Wright. b) It is a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant. c) To harvest opium, the seed pod of the poppy is cut and a juice flows out. The main ingredient that is extracted from raw opium is morphine. Morphine is easily converted to heroin by a chemical process. http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hero.html d) In pure form is a white powder. Another form of heroin known as "black tar" may be sticky, like roofing tar, or hard, like coal. Its color may vary from dark brown to black. http://www.drugs.com/heroin.html Methods of heroin use a) Heroin is used by...
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...Assignment 2 Heroin is one of the worlds most dangerous drugs, and is also one of the world's oldest. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 69,000 people die from an opioid overdose each year. (Information Sheet on Opioid Overdose). Heroin is just one of the many opioid forms labeled as analgesics. An analgesic relieves pain and is also called a “pain-killer”. Opioids are created from the plant “papaver somniferum”, better known as the opium poppy. The earliest records of this plant date back thousands of years ago to a Sumerian tablet which called the plant the “flower of joy.” The opium poppy is the root source of all opioids, the seed pod is the source of the naturally occurring opium. To extract the opium cuts are made to the green poppy seeds, which will ooze out a latex that is collected and dried to produce the raw opium. This latex is used to produce opioids such as morphine and codeine. Throughout history opium has seen its many uses. The drug came to its most prominence in the 1700’s, when the Dutch introduced the practice of smoking opium in a tobacco pipe to the Chinese. Up until this point opium had been used largely for its medical use as an analgesic. By 1729 the Chinese government had outlawed the sale of opium, fearing the weakening of the national vitality. Additionally the Chinese government had forbade the import of opium from India where the plant was largely cultivated. However the British East India Company encouraged the cultivation...
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...Heroin Addiction Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is usually sold as a white or brown like powder or as a black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin”. Pure heroin is becoming more common on the streets, but most is cut with other drugs or substances such as sugar, starch or other poisons. Heroin abusers do not often know the actual strength of the drug, or what its contents are and are at risk of overdose or death. It is estimated that 9.2 million people in the world use heroin and first time users have risen from 85000 people in 1970 to 162000 in 2001. HIV and other diseases can be transmitted from abuser to abuser from sharing of needles or other types of injection equipment; about three to four percent of heroin addicts die each year from HIV and AIDS. Heroin, or as known on the streets as “smack”, “H”, “junk” and many others is usually injected, sniffed, snorted or smoked. Intravenous injection provides a heroin abuser with the greatest intensity and most rapid high, producing a drowsy state of relaxation and contentment, taking approximately fifteen to thirty seconds to get that intense high. Injection into the muscle or skin takes about three to five minutes for an abuser to get a high. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, the effects are usually felt within ten to fifteen minutes. Injection is the most used method of heroin users; however researchers have seen a shift in patterns from injection to sniffing...
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...Persuasive Piece Contention: Heroin must be decriminalised The prostitution of twelve-year-old children as heroin peddlers on the streets has sent shockwaves through the community. The devastating effects of heroin have ruined the lives of hundreds of families through the loss of loved ones. The precious lives of teenagers and adults alike are being sacrificed on the altar of those, whose dogma prevents them from accepting the need for a new approach. Heroin must be decriminalised, in order to control and curb the devastating effects its use inflicts on the community. The importation, sale and use of heroin has been banned for 43 years, yet ironically heroin is now more freely available than ever. Outlawing heroin has not hindered its use, instead it has been conducive to other evils. Rather than depressing the “500 heroin-related deaths” occurring in Australia annually, prohibition has furnished the epidemic of HIV and hepatitis C in the community through the “use of unclean needles.” Instead of controlling heroin, prohibition has delivered the illicit drug as a franchise to organised crime. The continuing eruption of the black market has been sustained by the staggering “640 billion dollar” annual profit. It is this filthy profit that allows for the corruption, exploitation and intimidation of anybody, from the corner shopkeeper to the judiciary. It has provided the criminal element with the impetus to carry out every endeavour necessary “to expand demand and...
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...Irma Serrata Julie Garza-Horne ENGL-1302-3705 03/06/2016 On March 6, 2016, The New York Times published Katharine Seelye’s “Heroin Epidemic Increasingly Seeps Into Public View”. It states that finally people are finally starting to notice heroin users and they’re overdosing in public places everywhere. Police officers are routinely finding drug users — unconscious or dead — in cars, in the bathrooms of fast-food restaurants, on mass transit and in parks, hospitals and libraries (Seelye). It’s an epidemic. In Philadelphia last spring, a man riding a city bus at rush hour injected heroin into his hand, in full view of other passengers, including one who captured the scene on video (Seelye). Users need the fix as quickly as they can get it,” said Edward James Walsh, chief of police in Taunton, Mass., a city 40 miles south of here that has been plagued with heroin overdoses in recent years. “The physical and psychological need is so great for an addict that they will use it at the earliest opportunity” (Seelye). It was all over the media. You can watch the video over and over, the man shooting himself up and just falling over. Nationally, 125 people a day die from overdosing on heroin and painkillers, and many more are revived, brought back from the brink of death — often in full public view (Seelye). In Cincinnati, a woman died in January after she and her husband overdosed in their baby’s room at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The husband was found unconscious...
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...him. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence in the heroin underground. Up to 50% of drug users have experienced or witnessed an overdose (Martins, Silvia S) The decriminalization and/or legalization of heroin would benefit the entire nation, including addicts that overdose. Giving addicts cheaper and safer heroin...
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...Heroin: The Harmful Effects Briana Wilson COM 172 November 21, 2014 Barbara Lach Heroin: The Harmful Effects Introduction Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug use that eventually changes the functions in the brain. An addiction to any drug can be dangerous but heroin is a totally different story. Heroin is one of the strongest and most abused drugs on the market as of now and is affecting billions of people day by day. The long and short-term effects of heroin can ultimately damage the brain and the human body, and eventually cause death. Content “Heroin was first manufactured in 1898 by the Bayer pharmaceutical company of Germany and marketed as a treatment for tuberculosis as well as a remedy for morphine addiction.” (Scott, 1998). Morphine was widely used for pain relief in the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. When people were wounded and hurt, morphine was the go-to drug. The morphine was highly addictive and became a major problem in the United States. In order to cut down on morphine addictions, another drug had to be provided that also worked as well as morphine. “In 1832, heroin was presented as a cough, chest and lung medicine that cured painful respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis; hence they were the leading causes of death at that period. Heroin was prescribed in place of morphine or codeine. It is known to be a more potent and faster-acting painkiller than morphine because it...
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...Heroin: The Devastating Truth April Matthews COM/172 08-11-2014 UoP Heroin: The Devastating Truth The United States is in the grips of one of the worst heroin epidemics in its history, due in part to a flood of cheap doses of the drug. In some regions, heroin is deemed "highly available" by local police in more than three times the number of communities as it was just seven years ago. This drug has taken many lives in the past and it is now becoming very popular again. The resurgence of the deadly drug has sparked a flurry of action from governors' mansions and statehouses across New England. The addiction of this drug is devastating and the deaths are rising. Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine, is an illegal drug in the United States and many other countries. Heroin has devastating results on the brain and body. Estimates on the number of U.S. heroin addicts range from 300,000 to 500,000, up about 75 percent from five years ago. And while that is just a minor portion of the nearly 24 million Americans that abuse drugs overall, heroin use is growing faster than all others. Heroin is a powerfully addictive drug. Also known as smack, h, ska, dope or junk, this white or brown powdery or black, sticky substance is processed from morphine. Like all opiates, it is a depressant that inhibits the central nervous system. Heroin is administered in three ways: smoking, snorting, or shooting (injecting)...
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...Beshear: Without question, we are well aware of the heroin epidemic that has infected our communities. As time progresses more and more people are being swallowed by the black cloud that is captivating new victims every day. Unfortunately, this cannot be solved by administering a vaccine, and we must face the issue head on by providing long term residential treatment. We’ve seen the data, people are dying while they wait for treatment. Controlling an epidemic requires many resources. Our state has taken the much needed steps to get a grip on heroin abuse; however there are several dimensions of the disease where we are falling short. We have succeeded in part by controlling the flow of drugs through our cities, thus now we must focus on rebuilding healthy communities. Treatment programs, specifically in the Northern Kentucky region are lacking resources to help facilitate the rehabilitation process. According to the Northern Kentucky’s Collective Response to the Heroin Epidemic (NKCRHE), “Of the Commonwealth’s 14 regions, Northern Kentucky receives the lowest per capita allocation of federal and state funds for treatment of substance use and mental health disorders (2013, p. 12).” It is my concern that without the proper funding for more beds in our current facilities and allocation of monies to build more treatment centers the counties of N.KY will continue to lose loved ones to heroin. In 2013, the heroin overdose mortality rate from in the state of Kentucky...
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...Heroin Addiction and Treatment Abstract This paper offers a brief explanation of the history of heroin. Describing the origins of heroin, who discovered it and describe the detrimental effects heroin has on an individual. There are several treatment options available for heroin addicts and this paper will look at a few of the ones that have shown the most success. Heroin Addiction and Treatment Introduction: A Brief History of Heroin Heroin comes from the opium poppy. This plant has been used by a number of various civilizations going back to include ancient civilizations. Opium, heroin, and morphine are derived from the poppy. Opium had been used by Drs. in the United States for many years prior to the Civil War. When morphine was discovered Drs. switched to using morphine instead of opium for pain, mainly because the hypodermic needle had been invented and morphine could be injected and pain could be better controlled. Heroin was derived from a chemical process discovered by Felix Hoffman in 1874. Heroin was initially distributed as a pain killer, and cough suppressant by Bayer Company in 1898. Drs. initially thought that heroin could replace morphine because they thought heroin did not possess the addictive qualities of morphine. In fact Drs. used heroin to get their patient’s off morphine. They thought...
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...Distance Education Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use A Paper Presented to Professor Loyd Uglow, Ph.D In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Course THE 5113 Research Literature and Technology Sharon Pete November 28, 2012 THESIS STATEMENT: To investigate Methadone maintenance is found to be more effective in treating heroin addiction than 180 day detoxification. The objective is how methadone maintenance, a widely used but controversial method of weaning heroin addicts off the drug—with counseling has psychosocially enriched 180 day methadone assisted detoxification. OUTLINE I. INTRODUCTION A. History of Heroin B. History of withdrawals II. How Methadone is used to treat Heroin? III. Research Findings IV. CONCLUSION V. Work Cited Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use Substitution treatment or maintenance pharmacotherapy programs using methadone are today the most sought after and effective form of treatment for opiate addiction and dependence. Because methadone is a long-acting opiate whose dosage can be stabilized, it is well suited for daily administration and has proven effective in the elimination of narcotic craving, a driving force behind continued heroin use. And, because it can be administered orally, methadone dramatically reduces heroin injecting frequency and, with it, associated risks for HIV and other blood-borne...
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...the brain like judgement and planning, making it impossible to stop using drugs. As a result of the changes in the brain, drugs then create a chronic disease, addiction, treated by medication, therapy, and preferably abstinence (WDCF, 2015).” For example, addiction to heroin in the United States has been increasing. According to Drugabuse’s...
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...The Drug Heroin and its Effect on Families Ramona C. Malone COM/172-Elements of University Composition and Communication II University of Phoenix September 15, 2014 The Drug Heroin and its Effect on Families As a very common known street drug, heroin has become the drug that destroys many families in the United States. Due to the fact that Heroin has become the more accessible drug, it is causing more and more people addicted? Heroin addiction has become extremely dangerous in today’s society to both young and old. Americans need to get a handle on this and develop sometime of intervention to help family members who have become addicted to Heroin. Without help to become free of Heroin the outcome could be a very sad on for all involved. Heroin and its impact has affected all parts of the United States and not just selecting today’s wealthy Society, but as well as so many of our urban areas (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012). Heroin has been identified as one of the most used and sought after drug by any addict of recent years (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012). Heroin is one of the fastest acting drugs which will give its users an immediate rush, making the body relaxed and with the sense of less pain. Whether it be emotional or physical pain a user is trying to decrease, they enjoy the fast acting rush. (Christensen, CNN, 2014). Once a person is starting to obtain the help to no longer take Heroin they can and will experience...
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...officials have linked the increase in heroin use to the increase in opioid pain prescriptions, along with heroin’s cheaper cost and increased availability (CDC, 2017). To prevent heroin addiction from forming, it has been instructed that health professionals revise when and how much opioid pain prescriptions are prescribed to patients (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2016). To prevent the scope of the heroin epidemic in the Northern Shenandoah Valley there are drug collection units throughout, including in Winchester and Berryville (NSVAC, 2016). The goal is to decrease the availability of unused prescription pain medication. This may prevent opioid abuse from beginning in teenagers and young...
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